Riverina Rewind: It's been 10 years since we 'blew up' Wagga's Hampden Bridge

On 20 August 2014, the Hampden Bridge, which had spanned the Murrumbidgee River at Wagga Wagga for over a century, was demolished.

It was a controversial, but arguably necessary, task that has divided Wagga locals for a decade.

The three-span Allan type timber truss bridge was opened in 1895 and was named after the NSW Governor Henry Robert Brand, also known as Lord Hampden.

It was the second bridge at the same location, replacing the ‘Company Bridge’ that had opened in 1862.

Percy Allen’s original design was for the 100-metre-long bridge to be made of steel, however, it proved too expensive so timber was used for the trusses instead.

The bridge was closed to traffic after 99 years of service when the new concrete Wiradjuri Bridge was opened in October 1995.

For more than a decade, the picturesque wooden bridge was traversed by pedestrians and cyclists but was finally closed entirely in 2006 due to safety concerns.

There were hopes the bridge might be restored and in November 2007 council sought funding to undertake conservation works, however, the application was not successful.

In June 2009, council resolved to “open Hampden Bridge as a pedestrian walkway subject to prior assessment of the potential hazards and risks presented to the public from accessing the bridge”.

The Riverside Masterplan that was adopted by council in 2010, acknowledged that the “Hampden Bridge is considered a key element that adds character and identity to the cityscape”.

However, as testing and inspections were undertaken, the timber elements were revealed to be perilously unsound and on the verge of collapse.

A report delivered in March 2012 revealed the extent of work required and the increasing maintenance costs. Without the injection of heritage funding the ongoing expense was deemed to be beyond the city’s budget.

“Based on the potential ongoing maintenance costs identified for the bridge, the current condition of the bridge and the continuing cumulative cost to retain the bridge it is recommended council agree that the bridge be demolished,” the report concluded.

“It is recommended that council give consideration to the allocation of $2 million in the 2012/13 delivery program for the demolition of Hampden Bridge.”

With heavy hearts, Wagga City Council voted unanimously in February 2013 to demolish the bridge.

Southern Cross Demolition Pty Ltd won the tender and it was agreed that a parallel project would be undertaken “to ensure the social, historical and engineering significance of the bridge is commemorated at the site of the bridge, through the capture and retention of historical documentation and via the retention of selected material retained from the bridge”.

The decision to use a controlled explosion on the central part of the structure was made for safety reasons and fears that the rickety bridge could injure demolition workers taking it apart in pieces.

At 11 am on Wednesday 20 August 2014 a siren rang out across the river before a series of small explosive charges were detonated at key structural points to bring down the middle span with a mighty splash.

As the 33-metre span came to rest at the bottom of the Murrumbidgee, excavators moved in to finish the task and toppled first the easternmost section before rocking the remaining span back and forth to bring it crashing down.